Dangerous Waters Unexpected Love

I won't let it happen Again.

Chapter 7

Calissa’s POV

This wonderful opportunity was a blessing, and no matter what happens, I am going to be thankful for it. Asherah had told me that my tail was one of the most beautiful that she had ever seen. That meant a lot to me, as I knew that there were about twelve hundred Merpeople in our kingdom. There were a total of almost seven thousand Merpeople in total for the six kingdoms.

What Asherah couldn’t get over was the color of my hair. My hair is almost the same as my tail, with some strands of color that my tail has with white streaks mixed in with it. It makes me blend in with the surrounding water very well. I was almost invisible in the shadow of these rocks right now, and I was very thankful for it. Asherah had told me that it is very rare for that to happen in the mermaid culture. Usually, the hair color that you have is the color that you were born with. It stays the same once you get your tail around three years old.

It made me very happy that I am considered special because of my hair. I also know that it is going to bring some unwanted attention to me because of it. I had assumed that all Merpeoples hair changed colors when they were in their mermaid form. I still think that it was so cool to have the tail and the hair color that I have. I was excited to see a picture of myself, taken by my cousin, Asherah. She sent it to me, and it looks like an AI picture.

I was about two feet under the surface of the water, so I am very well-lit in the picture. My hair was swirling out all around me, and I looked stunning. You cannot tell that it is me in the picture at all, as you can’t see the color of my eyes. Which is why I felt safe to use it as a screen saver on my phone. I couldn’t help it. It was the first time that I looked beautiful, and I embraced it.

Asherah has a small pouch that she keeps her phone in so that she can use it underwater. It is one of the patent ideas. She keeps it attached to her diving belt. The pouch is good down to two thousand feet. It comes with a double seal on it that can keep the water out. The pouch keeps the phone safe and protects it from the chill of the water too. The further down you dive, the colder it gets. She wears the driver's belt right above her waist. The pouch is attached to the diving belt by a coil lanyard. She can take pictures while keeping her phone safe inside the pouch. I was amazed as there was no glare in the picture from the plastic. She is going to get me one of the bags too. For my trip to the kingdom. My uncle Ronan is getting me a knife for my diving belt.

Thinking of that memory made me grab my long hair and pull it back behind me. The last thing I needed right now was for my floating hair to get the shark's attention. I can’t communicate with my uncle or my cousins yet because I am not an official member of their kingdom. He told me that once I have been formally accepted, I will be able to talk to them all. They can communicate telepathically with the other members of the kingdom. I am looking forward to being able to do that, as I would love to have more eyes on this shark to tell me if it was safe to come out now, or not.

Fun fact, sharks do not make sounds when they swim. Isn’t that just great? You do not hear them coming at all. The warning you usually get is the ‘death shadow’, as it is called. That nickname is usually reserved for the great whites, but the majority of the almost five hundred members of their species do not make a sound. I think that they should rename them the 'silent killers', as you do not know that they are there until it is almost too late. There is only one or two of their kind that do make sounds. You only know the great white is there when they burst through the surface as they take their latest victim. Once they get you in their sight, the probability that you are about to be dinner becomes much higher.

The great white looked to be at least 9 feet long from tip to tail. I only had a real quick glance at it before I dove to escape it, so it could be bigger. I don’t know if it was just curious about me, or if it was actually hungry. I was not going to wait to find out the answer to that either. That is the difference between life and death. I tried to remain calm, but my heart was beating pretty hard as I waited for the shark to leave the area. Great white sharks are apex predators. They are excellent hunters. They are not afraid of anything, except killer whales. This shark was not worried about me at all.

I see Asherah appear in front of where I am hiding, and motion for me to follow her. I knew it was safe to come out at that point. I felt like a failure, as I didn’t have all five of my flags. I am disappointed that I may have failed my first test. It is all my fault as I allowed myself to get distracted. I was in the middle of a test and got preoccupied with how I was going to be received in the kingdom. I had ended up endangering not just myself, but my family too.

I am more than disappointed in myself right now, so much so that I wanted to cry. I have been studying the books my uncle gave me very hard. I have learned so much from my uncle, yet I failed to get all the flags. Asherah took me to the surface, so I could speak with my uncle and Varon. I felt so guilty that I immediately started speaking before my uncle could stop me.

“I am sorry, Uncle Ronan. I allowed myself to get distracted and didn’t pay enough attention to my surroundings. Is it possible for me to continue on with my test? I know that I have lost time with the shark, but do I still have time to try to finish my test?” I asked.

He glanced at his watch and said, “You have 8 minutes to get it finished, Callie. I don’t know if you will have time to complete it or not, but you can go ahead and try”.

“Thanks!” I told him and immediately dove. I was almost to the fourth flag anyway, so I only had another mile further out to swim. I grabbed it quickly and tucked it under my dive belt with the others, before heading back to the coast. I pushed myself harder than I ever had before, as I knew that I didn’t have any time to lose. I was moving very quickly through the water at the moment. That was my first time swimming this far out by myself. I remembered to keep my head on the swivel and to occasionally look behind me.

I knew I was making good time though. I knew that the 5th and last flag was at the pier. Once I made it to the beach, I was done. I loved the feel of the water sliding past me as I hurried to get to the last flag. I knew I was going pretty fast. Faster than I had ever gone before, but the more I was able to get time in the water, the quicker I became. I freed my mind of everything, and just enjoyed the swim as I watched for any other issues to approach. I grinned as I grabbed the last flag, and headed towards the beach. When I was in about five feet of water, I changed back to my human form. I walked out of the water proudly, holding up my flags and heading towards my family as fast as I could to see if I had managed to make it in time.

Both my cousins were smiling at me in pride. They were still toweling off as I walked up, so I knew that they had just come out of the water themselves. That made me happy. I ran up to them and looked up at my uncle expectantly. He glanced at his watch and smiled at me. “You still have three minutes. Even with the threat, you have made excellent time today. I know I am going to have to see what your pace is now. You had to have been going over thirty miles an hour out there to get both flags in five minutes,” he told me.

I couldn’t stop my cry of happiness from escaping. I tried so hard to make sure that I could finish. I was glad that he gave me the chance to do it. I couldn’t help the shark being there, but I know in my heart that if I had been paying more attention, he wouldn’t have been able to see me in the first place. I will not be doing that again. I knew what I was supposed to be doing out there, and I failed myself. It wasn’t my uncle's fault at all. He taught me well, and I will not be letting this happen again. No getting lost in thought in deep water again. That kind of bad habit can get you killed.

“Don’t overthink it, Callie. You did a great job. You got here less than a minute after we did. You had to go out even further to get the fourth flag, before heading this way. I am impressed that you managed to get your time back after the shark slowed you down. You might not have seen him as soon as you could have, but you did what you were supposed to do when you did see him. You have only been training for about a week now. You are making remarkable progress and doing the best job you can. I am very proud of you,” my uncle told me before hugging me. My cousin also hugged and congratulated me after my uncle did. We all headed back to our homes for showers because we were going out to eat dinner tonight to celebrate my passing the test.